Seems to be the consensus, even though Rubio otherwise had a good night.
And I love the headline at Politico, "GOP HUNGER GAMES: Marco Rubio takes the brunt of the blows, as the candidates desperately try to score points ahead of Tuesday’s primary":
MANCHESTER, N.H. — With time running out before the New Hampshire primary, the top Republican rivals desperately tried to land knock-out punches at Saturday night’s debate — and most of them were aiming at Marco Rubio.Keep reading.
Rubio’s adversaries went after the Florida senator from all angles, eager to slow his momentum by portraying him as a lightweight leader whose campaign has been lifted by little more than lofty rhetoric.
Chris Christie led the charge, slamming Rubio for memorizing talking points and for his thin record in the Senate, as he declared that Rubio “simply does not have the experience to be president of the United States.”
Christie urged Republicans not to make the “same mistake we made eight years ago” in electing a first-term senator, Barack Obama. Jeb Bush eagerly joined the Rubio pile-on. “We’ve tried it the old way,” Bush said, echoing Christie’s warning of an Obama repeat act.
When Rubio repeated himself by pivoting three times to the fact that Obama is carrying out his flawed plan for the White House — saying he “knows exactly what he's doing" — Christie pounced. “There it is, the memorized 25-second speech,” Christie declared. “There it is, everybody.”
When Rubio listed some of his Senate accomplishments, Christie hammered him on that, too, in particular Rubio’s backing of a bill cracking down on Hezbollah, and his spotty attendance record for Senate votes. “That’s not leadership,” Christie said. “That’s truancy.”
Rubio tried to hit back at Christie over attendance, only to have it boomerang. The Florida senator pointed that Christie only reluctantly went back to New Jersey for 36 hours during a big snow storm. "That had to shame you into going back,” Rubio said.
Christie shot back — “The shame is, Marco, you would actually criticizes someone for showing up to work."
PREVIOUSLY: "Explosive Jeb Bush/Donald Trump Exchange on Eminent Domain Sparks Boos at #GOPDebate (VIDEO)."
UPDATE: Linked at iOTW Report. Thanks!
Plus, at the Los Angeles Times, "Fierce exchanges mark Republican debate, as Marco Rubio is hit hard."
Still more, at BuzzFeed, "Under Attack, Marco Rubio Malfunctions — And Repeats the Same Line Four Times."
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